Deadly poison from sea snails holds the key to creating new pain relievers

04/01/2022 08:35 GMT+7

The beautifully decorated cone snail is one of the most beautiful but also the most dangerous animals in the ocean.

Deadly poison from sea snails holds the key to creating new pain relievers

Cone snails possess deadly venom, which is the dreaded fear of many creatures as well as humans if accidentally touched. They often lengthen the hose before firing the venomous tooth at the victim.

Now, however, scientists from the University of Glasgow and artificial intelligence experts from the University of Southampton have managed to successfully take advantage of the cone snail’s poison. According to experts, if it is possible to extract the poison of the cone snail, a new pain reliever that is more effective and less addictive than current options can be developed.

Andrew Jamieson, who led the project, said: “The cone snail is unlikely to make a breakthrough in drug creation, but the conotoxin it produces has many attractive properties, promising for use in medicine.”

Cone snails are predatory marine animals that commonly live in warm seas and oceans around the world. They have serrated teeth that inject a strong nerve agent into the opponent, this substance is strong, dangerous to humans.

Their venom contains chemicals called conotoxins – very powerful neurotoxic peptides that cause paralysis by blocking parts of the nervous system. This poison is fatal to anyone standing in the way of the cone.

First, the team will investigate how conotoxin peptides are structured at the molecular level. Then, build on that knowledge to synthesize promising new peptides that interact with a class of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, ornAChRs in the human nervous system.

Finally, the team will run simulations to determine how effective the peptides are in binding to muscle receptors.

The potential for interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors would lead to a new form of muscle relaxant, an anesthetic, or an effective but non-narcotic pain reliever.

“The project brings together some of the UK’s leading researchers from a variety of disciplines to learn about how conotoxins work,” said Andrew Jamieson.

In addition, researchers have not yet found a substance that works against cone snail toxins at present. Severe stings cannot be treated effectively. However, the researchers hope that the new project will find the first treatments for conotoxin poisoning in the future.

Hoang Dung (synopsis)